Crime • Police say a 25-year-old killed the party host who turned away his 15-year-old cousin.

By Lindsay Whitehurst The Salt Lake Tribune

Published July 5, 2012 12:11 pm

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Payson police have arrested a 25-year-old accused of stabbing a party host to death for refusing to admit his teenage cousin.

Victim William "K.C." Wright, 36, was having a party at his house on the 600 North block of 700 East Tuesday night when a 15-year-old tried to join the festivities, said Payson police Lt. Bill Wright (no relation.)

Parties are frequent at the house and police occasionally receive noise complaints, but they've never seen violence or underage people drinking, he said. The teen was told to go.

He left, but apparently "felt like he got mistreated," and called his cousin, 25-year-old Keenan Thompson of Spanish Fork, Lt. Bill Wright said. Thompson came and fought with K.C. Wright in the street about one house away, according to police. The 36-year-old suffered two stab wounds.

Someone called 911 about 3:45 a.m. to report a person hit by a car.

"As they arrived, [police] quickly determined it did not involve an auto-pedestrian accident," Lt. Bill Wright said. "There was a male adult lying on the ground bleeding from what appeared to be two knife wounds."

He was taken to Mountain View Hospital, but died of his injuries. Police arrested Thompson on suspicion of murder, a first-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. His teenage cousin, whose name was not released, was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice.